Ranking the NFL’s top 10 QBs

This week at Pro Football Focus, we are taking a look at the top 10 units at every position across the league. We’re going to start with the one position that is all about the individual player as opposed to the group, the quarterback position.

Always a lightning rod for discussion in debate, here are our picks for the top 10 quarterbacks in football right now. There’s more than one way to rank QBs, but I went the route of ordering them based on our new PFF ratings – a measure of how productive we project each QB to be this season based on their performance the past two years.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers (92.7 PFF rating)

Perennially among our highest-graded passers in the league, Rodgers was No. 1 in the NFL last season. He had just two games in 2014 where he graded negatively as a passer, as he threw 42 touchdowns to seven interceptions in the regular season and playoffs combined. He graded negatively under pressure, though only slightly, but was still able to put up a positive grade against the blitz.

Drew Brees, Saints (89.5)

Rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. While some pointed to an up-and-down end to the 2014 season, and to his 17 interceptions, as an indicator that Brees was no longer one of the NFL’s top few QBs, it’s worth pointing out that his two highest-graded games of the year came in the final five weeks. He faces some challenges this season, with Jimmy Graham now on the Seattle Seahawks, but if his pass to Brandin Cooks on Saturday night was anything to go by, he’s in for another fine season in 2015.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (87.2)

A player who probably doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves in a league with Rodgers, Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, Roethlisberger has managed to stay healthier in recent seasons, and delivered some outstanding performances to go with it. He forms one of the most potent QB-WR combos in the league with Antonio Brown — he had a quarterback rating of 119.5 when throwing to Brown last season, including 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Philip Rivers, Chargers (85.6)

Like Roethlisberger, Rivers doesn’t always get the credit he deserves, though this is partly due to his subpar 2012 season in which it looked like he was on a very steep decline. He’s bounced back since, however, leading the league with an accuracy percentage of 78.7 percent in 2013. Obviously, the Chargers recognize how valuable he is as well, given his recent contract extension.

Peyton Manning, Broncos (85.3)

Manning is an interesting quarterback to rank at this stage in his career. Were we purely looking at the second half of his 2014 season, he wouldn’t be close to the top five, but he is buoyed by a 2013 season in which he was one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Manning was our sixth-highest-graded quarterback through Week 8 of the 2014 season, but was just the 17th-highest graded from Week 9 onwards. How he responds in 2015 with new head coach Gary Kubiak will be key both for his place on lists like these and the Broncos’ Super Bowl hopes.

Tom Brady, Patriots (83.7)

Brady was our highest-graded quarterback in the NFL from Weeks 5 to 13 last season, recovering from a shaky start (which included a really poor performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4) to have another stellar season. One cause for concern would be how we performed from Week 13 through the Super Bowl, but despite being very average for that stretch, he is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Tony Romo, Cowboys (83.3)

Often criticized for the Cowboys’ lack of postseason success, Romo is actually one of the best QBs in the league on a yearly basis. It’s hard to imagine where the Cowboys would be without him, and he was particularly effective in 2014. No QB in the league had more touchdown throws on deep passes.

Matt Ryan, Falcons (83.0)

Another quarterback who seems to take an unnecessary amount of blame for his team’s lack of postseason success, Ryan is a top-10 NFL QB. He has benefited from having weapons like Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez around him during his time in Atlanta, but Ryan consistently performs well. He handled pressure well again in 2014, too, with an accuracy percentage of 69.4 percent on plays during which he was under pressure.

Russell Wilson, Seahawks (82.1)

Wilson wasn’t a particularly good passer in 2014, ranking just 19th in passing grade. He made up for that with the second-highest rushing grade among quarterbacks, but his place in the top 10 is more than anything based off of his tremendous 2013 season. That’s when he had the eighth-highest passing grade, and again the second-highest rushing grade, while leading the league with an accuracy percentage of 48.3 percent on passes travelling 20 yards or more downfield.

Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (80.2)

Is he among the best five quarterbacks in the league yet? No, but Ryan Tannehill has quietly put himself in the top 10 with his play over the past two seasons. He was the sixth-most accurate QB in the league last year. Our sixth-highest graded passer in 2013, he dropped slightly to 10th this past season, but looks poised for a big year with the Dolphins and an improved supporting cast.

Gordon has worked at PFF since 2011, and now heads up the company’s special teams analysis processes. His work in-season focuses on college football, while he is also heavily involved in PFF’s NFL draft coverage. Follow @PFF_Gordon

Jephree Dagenais

Was Luck forgotten? Or is he really not a top 10 QB?

Al

Easily the most overrated player in the league. Possibly in league history at this point.

a57se

He’s still better than Tannehill.

Jack

Tannehill had comparable stats but did it behind the worst offensive line in the league. He has been sacked more than any other qb the past three seasons yet managed to be the 8th best fantasy quarterback last season. You can’t fault the guy for not having players around him.

John

Maybe that’s bc he can’t get out of the way…I don’t enjoy having a discussion about the worst o line but we’re not much if any better than yours. I never see the dolphins play so I can’t say but I can say our line is very anger inducing.

Jack

It isn’t just the line. Last season the Dolphins had more drops by receivers than any other team. The receiving core was the shortest in the league making goal line TDs that much harder. Yet he still was eighth in fantasy points. That should change this season now that we have almost an entirely new receiving core. Tannehill really hasn’t had good player around him, but you guys have/had TY Hilton, and Reggie Wayne. Both of which will probably make it to the Hall.

vicki fish

Dang..and Luck is one of the most hit Qb’s in the league. His bad OL is the talk for years. His rookie year, was the worse. AFter that. Luck learned to move and get the FB out quickly to avoid the hit.

Jack

Stop crying.

vicki fish

Haha..right. His OL has been changing, and changing and changing. He was absolutely killed those first two games (Bills, Jets) then in the TN they finally changed the line again and he had better protection and they won.

doug

Nope

fidel305

No objective evidence of that

Peter Warren

Are you serious?????

John

Says the jealous pos

fidel305

No. That was rg3 season 1, and kaepernick that same season as #2. Russell Wilson is third

J_May

In other words “if they’re black and can run” they are overrated 😉

I’d agree RG3 was overrated. Wasn’t that the year Kaepernick went to the SB? Wilson plays with a patchwork o-line and, last year, completely undrafted receivers. Outside of Lynch, he hasn’t had much to work with on that side of the ball. Yet he still led a top-ten offense in 2014.

fidel305

Maybe youre on to something there. Because they were all overhyped at one point or another and wilson still is. And they’re all black ish. There is alot of PC BS that goes into talking heads evaluating black QBs.

Too bad luck is so over rated too or youd have conclusive proof of your theorem.

Sincerely Rude Mike

I agree luck is bitch just like you

Dale GoDawgs McLerran

J_May In addition to your points about the Seahawks deficiencies on offense, it really must be noted that the Seahawks do play 6 games per year against other NFC West defenses. The NFC West has had beastly defenses across the board these past three years. Also, I would note that Marshawn Lynch has only become a good RB with Wilson at QB. Without Wilson, Lynch averaged 3.99 YPC. With Wilson, Lynch has averaged 4.64 YPC. Could it be that when defenses can key on Lynch, he isn’t so dangerous. But when defenses have to respect the dual threat capabilities of Russell Wilson, Lynch gets to look really good?

Producing a top 10 offense out of very little talent while going against many of the best defenses in the league indicates that Wilson is probably a better QB than most people are willing to admit.

J_May

In other words “if they’re black and can run” they are overrated 😉

I’d agree RG3 was overrated. Wasn’t that the year Kaepernick went to the SB? Wilson plays with a patchwork o-line and, last year, completely undrafted receivers. Outside of Lynch, he hasn’t had much to work with on that side of the ball. Yet he still led a top-ten offense in 2014.

Jack Mandin

Yup, because of fantasy football.

https://twitter.com/MALACHiOFCOURSE Malachi

makes a lot of turnover worthy throws

Tim Edell

To rank Tannehill above Luck, who single handedly took them from 2 wins to 11, is ludicrous!

gllmiaspr

Big fan of RT but I completely agree with you. The PFF ranking system does not do justice to Luck.

Wade8813

There are a lot of arguments about Luck, that have varying degrees of merit.

But single-handedly? Gimme a break. First of all, the team drafted TY Hilton the same year they drafted Luck, which clearly matters. Second, it seems quite plausible that “Suck for Luck” was a real thing. It also seems that they faced a MUCH easier schedule in Luck’s rookie year.

Hanzo the Razor

I’ve never understood how the whole idea of “suck for Luck” makes any sense. To pull off that conspiracy, you’d need the knowledge and participation of at least the coaching staff and players.

But after the 2-14 season, much of the coaching staff was fired and many of the players were released. If “Suck for Luck” is real, that means those people’s loyalty to the Colts organization was so great that they were willing to fall on the sword for them. Coach Caldwell went from a head coach to a QB coach the next year (but thanks to the Ravens’ Super Bowl run, he’s once again a HC). OC Clyde Christensen was demoted to QB coach and DC Mike Murphy retired. QB Curtis Painter is basically out of football at this point.

Why would all those people damage themselves just so a football team can draft Luck and then go on to succeed without them? Makes no sense.

https://twitter.com/MALACHiOFCOURSE Malachi

lol right

Four Touchdowns

Am I wrong, though? Why would Caldwell and the rest of the staff blow their season just so the Colts can get a player they’d never coach? How does that make sense?

https://twitter.com/MALACHiOFCOURSE Malachi

they didn’t suck for luck. bill polian did a poor job of having overall team depth and zero backup options for manning

Wade8813

I’m not sure you would need the participation of the players. Given the right circumstances, football coaches may be able to torpedo the team without it being obvious (and if anyone had the right circumstances, it was probably the team losing Manning). They can choose not to pursue certain free agents, they can start slightly inferior players, they can make worse play calls.

As for why they would do it, maybe they didn’t know that they were going to be fired for doing so. Caldwell might have thought he had more job security than he did, given that he’d recently gone 14-2 and made the SB.

Four Touchdowns

So you believe that the coaches engaged in a conspiracy to sabotage the team on a level so subtle that none of the players became aware of it — and did it with no guarantee that they’d keep their jobs?

Do you really think that’s a likely scenario? To me, it doesn’t seem plausible at all.

Is there any hard evidence to back-up this theory?

Wade8813

I don’t believe it – I just don’t think it seems unreasonable.

It really doesn’t seem like it would be hard to sabotage the team like that without people noticing. Even front offices on Super Bowl teams make choices that a lot of people question, disagree with, etc. Just look at the Seahawks, and the amount of criticisms even some of their own fans have about Darrell Bevell, the O-line, and so on.

It’s simple to decide position battles wrongly, to make slightly less optimal play calls, and to give a bit more playing time to the backup players.

Four Touchdowns

I’m sure it’s somewhat possible, but the real issue with the theory is the motivation of the coaching staff to sabotage themselves with absolutely no guarantee of keeping their jobs.

Wade8813

I dunno. If I were a head coach, and had been to the SB in 2009 and made the playoffs in 2010, I wouldn’t assume that ONE bad season (even if really bad) would get me fired. Especially if that season resulted in us getting Luck and Hilton.

John

That plus no way in hell 50+ or even 10 key players could keep their stupid social media mouths shut about something like that.

corners

did you know the mannings and the lucks are very good family friends?

Four Touchdowns

Yes, I believe Luck’s father was a back-up for Archie Manning at some point.

corners

“Why would all those people damage themselves just so a football team can
draft Luck and then go on to succeed without them? Makes no sense.”

They could have been fired earlier in the season.

James Pierce

easy start a practice squad qb

eYeDEF

You’re assuming the coaches were even in on the conspiracy. They wouldn’t necessarily need to be. If the order from from on high was to keep Curtis Painter as the starting QB hell or high water, there wouldn’t need to be anything else that would need to happen. Painter was not a starting QB in this league.

Four Touchdowns

It’s possible, but IMO, not plausible. And has there been any evidence that such an order was given by the owner to keep Painter in for so long (though I totally agree it was a mystifying move) after the Kerry Collins pick-up was a huge disaster for them?

https://twitter.com/MALACHiOFCOURSE Malachi

some very special circumstances took place in that turn around, unprecedented really, and yes luck was a part of it but just as much as polian was a part in not having a backup QB the year before. etc

a57se

Ryan Tannehill is a dump off king, that should not qualify anyone for top ten status.
PFF needs to adjust its’ rankings to reflect guys who take the check downs and don’t produce enough offense.

https://twitter.com/MALACHiOFCOURSE Malachi

they’re adjusted, maybe u need to adjust?

Sam Doohan

They are adjusted to some degree, but Tannehill is miles behind these other guys in terms of yards and TDs and PFF doesn’t really adjust to for that.

https://twitter.com/MALACHiOFCOURSE Malachi

PFF is not statistic based, they grade the throws on difficulty, accuracy, velocity, distance, under pressure or not, etc.

gllmiaspr

If you are adjusting the rankings for QB that take check downs please include Brady. According to PFF RT threw 65.84% of his passes under 10 yds from LOS. And Tom Brady threw 65.62%. Both are dump off kings by your criteria.
And BTW PFF does adjust the criteria. It is a lot easier to get a good grade for a +20 yard pass than for a 5 yard dump.

Johnny Vicars

Wow you sound stupid. Does beat up your team a lot?

gllmiaspr

You are an idiot for insulting people that you disagree. Please learn to write a coherent sentence before calling people stupid, moron.

Football Sr

U mad bro lol.

Midgar Cowers

“Does beat up your team a lot?” is not a complete sentence. Wow, you sound stupid.

Midgar Cowers

Missing a pronoun makes you sound incredibly intelligent.

gllmiaspr

If you are adjusting the rankings for QB that take check downs please include Brady. According to PFF RT threw 65.84% of his passes under 10 yds from LOS. And Tom Brady threw 65.62%. Both are dump off kings by your criteria.
And BTW PFF does adjust the criteria. It is a lot easier to get a good grade for a +20 yard pass than for a 5 yard dump.

Four Touchdowns

If a check-down is the best option, why should that count against a player? I’d think taking a wide-open check-down rather than a risky long bomb to a covered receiver would probably be the better decision in most situations.

corners

I agree

fidel305

Actually that title.goes to tawwm fricken brady

And if I had stone hands mike Wallace running bad deep routes I’d check down too

Jack

It takes more than a quarterback to make a great team. Luck had plenty of pieces around him to have 11 wins. Tannehill did not. You only need to look at the amount of sacks and then compare their passing stats to know who played on a better team the past three years. Miami is laughing all the way to the bank on this one because they locked Tannehill up for the cheapest deal of all these quarterbacks.

for real, that contract is gold, almost (alllllmmmost) makes up for the one they gave suh that’s gonna require them blowing up their D for the next three years to fit him in under the cap

Jack

They will still 25 million to spend going into next off-season. 11 million in cap space and 14 million in rollover money. They will end up cutting a few people, Greg Jennings and Jordan Cameron, that will free up an additional 10 million. If they restructure a few deals, Cam Wake and Ndamukong Suh, they can free up an addition 5 million. That puts them at 40 million total with 26 million in cap space. People forget that Miami has 28 million right now in Dead cap space, the most in the league. Next year this is gone and it pretty much takes care of Suh’s entire contract. Now here is the real kicker, only two of Miami’s starters are free agents next off-season, Lamar Miller and Olivier Vernon, But I think we need to shoot higher than this. Marcel Dareus is probably going to be a free agent this off-season. Offer him the same contract as Suh. Nobody would have a chance against that line. Three elite players all playing next to each other.

https://twitter.com/MALACHiOFCOURSE Malachi

kicking the can down the road on suh’s contract is dangerous stuff. but this is good stuff

Jack

I’m not kicking, just evening it out. The second year is front loaded quite a bit. They could potentially save an additional 7.5 million on Suh’s contract alone next off-season, and it will still not be back loaded. If you want to include that money then we will have 46 million to spend with 32 million in cap space.

Tyler C

Fins suck, and Tanny throws ducks

fidel305

You mean pats cheat and tawwmy suucks. Hasn’t been able to throw for years

RealNiggaPatsFan

Bitch who super bowl the patriots. Not the sorry ass, bum ass Dolphins. Piece of shit team has not been relevant since Dan Marino lol.

corners

we have one of the best capoligist in dawn aponte.

Jack

She has done a good job so far. People always think we are in trouble but it never ends up that way. We have been hearing this for years now.

fidel305

Too bad she’s a back.stabbing cancer whose influence, with her former jets boss tannebaum, with the idiot owner Ross, has prevented the fins from signing a good coach

Jack

I think the jury is still out on Joe. Jeff Ireland was the real issue. If we regress then I will have to agree that Philbin needs to go.

Scott Kohler

John as of now the Saints in fact have the most dead money in the nfl. Just thought I would tell you

Jack

You are correct. You guys overtook us sometime in the offseason. Both are still very close. You guys now have 29 million in dead cap. That Jimmy Graham trade screwed you guys.

John

Hahaha as a Colts fan I’ll take winning over your “golden” contract. But I will say this I’d take him over Wilson any day of the week and yeah twice on Sunday

Jack

I would too. I would also take playing in the AFC south over the AFC east.

corners

your winning because you play in a crap division against teams that covet that #1 and #2 overall picks in the draft EVERY season.

Sophie Palf

Luck is 16-2 against the AFC South, and 17-13 against the rest of the league. His QB rating is +8pp higher against the AFC South than against the rest of the league. Look it up.

Dennis

No, The Colts is 16-2 against the AFC South, and 17-13 against the rest of the league.

The QB is clearly important, but Saints with Drew Brees went 4-12 and it wasn’t because of Brees…

fidel305

Colts play in the NFLs D league, the AFC south

GameRush01

See, I’m still not getting the “he has the pieces around him” argument. The Colts didn’t just let Peyton go, they let the entire team go except for Reggie Wayne. They got good picks in the 2012 draft, then followed that up with a bunch of bad picks in 2013-14 and terrible free agent contracts.

Luck makes the team better, the team barely supports him.

I seem to remember Miami having a pretty decent Defense and Tannehill isn’t on the ground nearly as much as Luck is.

Jack

Tannehill has been on the ground more than any other quarter since he was drafted. Andrew luck has been sacked 98 times since he was drafted. Ryan Tannehill has been sacked 149 times. Let that sink in for a bit.

And remember this is about QB rank, and Sacks can be attributed to QB play. Luck is very good at escaping and making quick decisions. If it were Tannehill back behind the Colts line, he may have even more sacks and hits.

Jack

Tannehill would have less based solely on average time to throw of each quarterback. Tannehill’s average time per throw is 2.28 seconds. Andrew lucks average time per throw is 2.63.Here are links that have stats for each.

Based on this Tannehill behind your line would be sacked considerably less.

Jack Mandin

Now here is a guy that knows football and what he is talking about. Good show!

gllmiaspr

Based on PFF signature stats, which I put a lot more weight on RT average time to throw is 2.61 and Luck’s is 2.83. A lot closer, rstill in Tannehill’s favor

Jack Mandin

Baloney – backtracking. You originally said that Luck was “on the ground” more. Now you are making this up too. Just admit it. You do not know what you are talking about.

GameRush01

Those are the stats from NFL.com. Stop being such a mental child. There’s no backtracking in that statement.

James Pierce

what about pressure whos been pressured more because just last year he was pressured 210 times.

BobGriese

Tannehill isn’t on the ground as much as Luck? You are incorrect. Tannehill has been sacked more than any NFL QB the past three seasons. Think on that. His stats (and team) would be sooo much better if he wasn’t scrambling for his life on every passing play behind a patchwork O-line.

Jesse Colts Lafantaisie

Your joking right luck had plenty of pieces around him??? The colts went 2-14 the year before luck got drafted and heres the list of depatures and adittions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Indianapolis_Colts_season#Departures The only big addition to the team was mid season a trade for vontae davis who wasnt very big name at the time. But tons of big names leaving like jeffy saturday, dallas clark, peyton manning. Yah you definitely don’t know the colts because if you did you would know the colts would be last in their division without luck the past 3 years just like the year before he got drafted they went 2-14.

James Pierce

curtis painter everybody know colts tanked that season with a practice squad qb so 2-14 mean nothing because the year before they went to the afccg.

Sophie Palf

Yeah they lost 15 players, including a few starters. Just like every other team in the league. Look that up. Don’t just stay in your “I love the Colts!” cocoon, go look at what the other teams also go through. These transitions are not shocks to the system (although clearly Manning would be that), they are business as usual and in many cases planned in advance, especially the retirements. Truly, the Colts from ’11 to ’12 was no different than most teams, again with the exception of Manning.

Tim Edell

How soon people forget that Tannehill’s own coach wouldn’t even committ to him starting the next week last year. Not many “franchise” QBs get such little vote of confidence.

Jack

That was the media blowing it up. Philbin just gave an answer that was meant to be non-controversial. He still started the rest of the season.

Sam Doohan

You’d think a top 10 guy would get a bit more than a ‘non controvertial’ answer whether he’s actually the teams qb thought, no? What do you think Mike Tomlin would have said about Big Ben?

Jack

Here is what he said “We’ll utilize the players the best way we see fit.” and “We’ll decide our game plan before we leave to play Oakland”. He didn’t even mention Tannehill in either answer.These were both meant to be answers that avoid the question entirely. So yes, I would say Mike Tomlin might say something like this.

James Pierce

96 mil answered your butthurt question

corners

tannehill had an all pro season after that.

If it was belicheck who did it he would be called a mad genius

fidel305

The fins coach is an idiot. He needs to be fired and will after this season if the fins dont go 11 – 5 or better

Dr. Marino

I am not a Colts fan but to leave Luck off the Top 10 makes me question whether the fee for PFF is worth anything! Basing future performance on the last two years of stats is like predicting tomorrow’s weather based on what it was on the same date the last two years. That’s just plain dumb.
If the writer (Gordon McGuinness) of this article wishes to put his money where his mouth is I propose the following wager. Barring injury causing two or more games missed I predict Luck is in the Top 10 in Fantasy Quarterback ranking in the majority of formats but we’d use ESPN standard scoring to decide the bet.
If I lose I’ll pay Double the fee for PFF next season, if I win he pays my fee for the next two years (whatever that costs).
I suspect he won’t take me up n this Offer which is a strong reflection on how valid his opinion is. Possibly he consumed too many Mc”Gunnisses while writing this?

PaulyG4

Completely agree. Some of the stats used are useful but many of the opinions and advice given here is awful. Ryan Tannehill sucks. Anyone that knows anything about football can see that.

doug

You apparently know jack about football.

PaulyG4

Um, I’ve forgotten more about football than you’ll ever know, my friend.

I’m not talking about fantasy. In real life, he’s a QB that is completely inept at throwing the deep ball. He’s a check down/dump off machine. If that’s what you’re looking for, wonderful. The Dolphins will never go anywhere with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback.
And, why would I hate Ryan Tannehill?

fidel305

Obvious that you know nothing about football

PaulyG4

I’ve forgotten more about football than most of you nerds.

fidel305

Like I said you know nothing about football. Luck gets the press because be was a number one pick but his good games are against the other teams in that d league afc south he plays in. Luck suucks against better competition. He turns the ball over. Etc

And Ai saw tannehill kick his ass as second years. And oh yeah, tannehill is getting better every year. Luck, not so much.

Soo suuuk on that.for luck

fidel305

Like I said you know nothing about football. Luck gets the press because be was a number one pick but his good games are against the other teams in that d league afc south he plays in. Luck suucks against better competition. He turns the ball over. Etc

And Ai saw tannehill kick his ass as second years. And oh yeah, tannehill is getting better every year. Luck, not so much.

Soo suuuk on that.for luck

PaulyG4

Like I said you know nothing about football.

Oh yes, clearly, I don’t and you do, little homer.

Luck gets the press because be was a number one pick but his good games are against the other teams in that d league afc south he plays in. Luck suucks against better competition. He turns the ball over. Etc

Luck is overrated to a degree but he’s much better than Tannehill. That’s not even a question. Again, you’re a blind, homer, moron.

And I saw tannehill kick his ass as second years.

Huh? I see your mastery of the English language is about on par with your football knowledge. How about trying to be a bit less obsessive and hysterical, sweetheart?

And oh yeah, tannehill is getting better every year. Luck, not so much.

Aw, how cute. Tannehill has gone from awful to average. I see your homer hopes are still high. Good for you.

fidel305

1. youre a dummmass internet cuunt
2. instead of the bullshiit you pull out of your brown eye, come up with some actual stats there moron and maybe someone will give a dam what you post.

PaulyG4

Aw, I think I angered the little pussy homer. What a shame.

I clearly detailed Ryan Tannehill’s deficiencies in a post above. Maybe if you’d stopped fellating your shitty idol for five seconds, you’d have the time to read it. Also, the differences between the two are obvious and need not be explained. Unless, you really aren’t familiar with the game of football, which totally explains this statement coming from you.

Also, funny that you mention “actual stats”, given that Luck beats Tannehill in virtually all “actual stats”, so what the hell are you talking about? That would just further prove my point. How unbelievably stupid are you?

“tannehill kick his ass as second years” quote from 2015 of Retarded fans talking about football.

Jack Mandin

Yup, he knows jack! Or, she, who knows?

DEV00100000

This article has nothing to do with fantasy football. It’s clear that Luck is a top 10 fantasy quarterback, but that doesn’t mean he had a top 10 year in real life.

I think people really miss the boat when they think that the “Pro” section is the same as the “Fantasy” section.

Sam Doohan

But being top in PFF stats doesn’t make Tannehill a top 10 qb in real life either.

corners

pff didnt say that it did

eYeDEF

Luck was the top fantasy QB last year, that didn’t make him the best QB in reality. You appear to be conflating the two things.

Gregg

It would be nice to get a comprehensive over the last 4/5 seasons best qb’s, I know Stafford played like shit last year, but to get an avg, I know him and luck have outplayed tannenhill on the last 4 seasons with stats avg’d out. I have no quams with the list, it just seems like Idk, a little more combined stats over time periods would be something worth looking into…all good though, between u and F.O., I got all the numbers I need!

http://www.facebook.com/joe.willie.509 Joe Willie

stats are stats–who do u want QB of your team in the Superbowl? Big Ben–Eli Manning and Luck Id pick—reg season stat winners–no

andy

Not quite sure how they came up w/ the final rating number, if based from the previous two years. If you look at the signature stats from the previous 2 years, and average them out, the numbers do not add up. They seem much lower than from the sig stats numbers. Regarding to the AL and RT “controversy”, let’s ask all 32 GMs, head coaches, and majority of the players in the league- who they’d pick if they want to start a franchise as of today, AL or RT? The answer should be very easy. Not even close.

Coy Combs

Did anyone read that this is a projection? They can project anything, I don’t think Tannehill is better than Luck but it isn’t as far a gap as some people act. Luck is wildly inconsistent. His highs are higher than Tannehill’s but his lows are pretty rough. He throws a lot of interceptible passes. Obviously he is the next great QB but don’t anoint him yet. He benefits from playing in the AFC South. Against teams that finished with a a winning record in 2014, Luck went 4-5. The Colts quarterback threw 16 interceptions in 2014 and half of those came in Indy’s five losses. Of the Colts 11 wins in 2014, six of them came against teams that won six or less games. In those six wins, Luck threw a total of 20 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. That means Luck threw 3.3 touchdowns and 0.3 interceptions per game against ‘bad’ teams. In the Colts 10 other games, where they went 5-5, Luck averaged two touchdown passes and 1.4 interceptions per game. Is that top 10 QB play

J_May

That’s pretty clear.

fidel305

Luck throws too many INTs and has played with better receivers and a better O line than tannehill and in a much weaker division.

GameRush01

Did I hear better O-line? Cuz that’s sad if your in Miami and the Colts have a better O-line. Luck gets hit/sacked/rushed more than any other QB in the league.

fidel305

You don’t know football. Miami has had o line woes throughout tannehills years. From unloading Jake long to the goddell faux bullygate disaster with that quitter martin who got incognito suspended to pouncy and Albert being out with season ending injuries. Miami’s o line has been the worst in the league. What’s lucks excuse?

And if anything luck’s ints should be higher. He’s had a lot of off target passes dropped by defensive backs

Face it, luck is over hyped. Tannehill is better

Jesse Colts Lafantaisie

You don’t know football because the Colts o-line is complete garbage. The colts went 2-14 the year before luck got drafted and have gone 11-5 every year since. The dolphins went 6-10 the year before tannehill got drafted and they have gone 7-9, 8-8, and 8-8 since. Where would the colts be without luck? Last in their division probably. Where would the dolphins be without tannehill? Prolly doing the same shit now considering they went 7-9, and 6-10 the 2 years prior to tannehill joinng the team and have gone 7-9, 8-8, and 8-8 since yah!!! WHos the better QB??? Your nutz.. Learn some football. Putting Brady #6 is complete joke. He is definitely #2 behind rodgers after last year and Luck would be #3 good luck proving otherwise.

madden lmao.
answer me this from your madden,
what games did albert play last season? what position did pouncey have to play?
and who played in 2013 after goddell, wells and jonathan martin gutted the o line?
and how many sacks did Miami’s o line give up in 2013 and 2014 compared to the shetland ponies?
here, I’ll help you with the last one:
2014 mia 2.9/game. ind 1.6/game
2013 mia 3.6/game. ind 2.0/ game
now beat it. no more excuses. luck suuucks Tannehill has done better with less

Dennis

LOL. Albert with 87 didnøt play because of injury and Smith was with the Chiefs.
That means that James with 74 was the nextbest….

Dolphins’ OL was the worst. But it should be better this year.

Luck is still the better QB though, but 7, 8 or 9 would probably fit the bill.

Jack

Madden? Are you serious?

Realisticly Rude

Get your unrealistic madden ass out here bum. Miami Dolphins are always going to be the patriots hoe.

Mark Lesnar

LOL Madden the game where rating don’t matter. Stop it man.

fidel305

1. put the dolphins in the colts D league AFC South and they’d do better that those pathetic colts
2. the fins beat the colts when last they played and tannehill out performed luck who as usual through a critical INT.
3. Luck is vastly over rated because he was the No. 1 pick and there is that confirmation bias thing. he is careless with the ball. and he has not progressed. tannehill has progressed every year and is now better than Luck. hell, he was better 2 years ago when they went head to head
youre an idiot

Sophie Palf

Dude: Yes the Colts went 2-14 in the year prior to Luck’s arrival. But it was hardly a 2-14 team that one man took to 11-5:

Don’t know about you, but it seems the Colts have been and still are a perennial playoff contender, except for one year. It’s the one year that stands out, not that Luck single-handedly took a loser (like the Bucs for example, or the Titans or Jags or Raiders) to the promised land. And don’t get me started on the players they lost either because I’ve checked it was no more than the average team, and in fact less than the transition for example of the ’13 Seahawks to ’14 Seahawks.

Last thing about this “transformation” is to look inside the numbers. Luck is 16-2 inside his division, and 17-13 outside his division. The latter is not a playoff team, so he really needs to thank his division for him having the 11-5 record you proclaim. Also his personal stats are fluffed up in those game vs out-of-division, look it up.

I’m a Luck fan, believe he has the chance to be one of the best ever. But I’m not drinking the koolaid in anticipation of that. He’s getting LOTS of yards but there’s alot more to it than that. No need to get ahead of our skis here, let’s see him deliver first.

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J_May

Actually Russell Wilson gets pressured more than any QB in the league, statistically.

Carson Tweed

That’s because he takes a million years to throw the ball.

caleb

Everyone would take a while to throw if their best receiver was Doug Baldwin and if their O-line was mostly rookies and guys who were drafted as defensive line men from college. Also the statistics are a little misleading. because statistically Russ was like 2nd worst in the league when it came to how long it took him to throw last year. A lot of that was because he was ditching the pocket to evade the insane pressure that came from having a shit O-line. Which probably happened 50+ times last year. And when you only throw 450 times in a season and a huge portion of those time’s you have to run away from d-line men before you even get an open receiver, that will probably inflate your throwing time a little. Also it’s not as evident that the
o-line is terrible, when one of the best power backs of all time is gonna run right through people regardless of who’s blocking him. And if you want to talk about time to throw, Aaron Rodgers who has a great o-line and probowl wide receivers, had all he time in the world to throw last year. In their game against the patriots, there’s a crucial play late in the game where he had 12 seconds to throw. In contrast during the Superbowl, at one point during a blitz, the Seahawks O- line broke down in under a second, so considering russell was going to drop back for a pass he had virtually no time to make a play

Scott Kohler

Russell Wilson had 2 pro bowlers in his O-Line. What the hell are you talking about. He had Russell Okung and Max Unger. He had 1 solid blocker in JR Sweezy and another with potential. Enough excuses for Russell Wilson

Sophie Palf

Football Outsiders ranking of the Seattle OL in run-blocking and pass-protection, during the Wilson years:

2012: #4 RB, #20 PP
2013: #9 RB, #32 PP
2014: #4 RB, #24 PP

Yes Seattle has (had) 2 Pro Bowlers but as you can see they were much better in the running game than in pass-blocking. And it’s (unfortunately) going to stay that way — Seattle is going to priorize the much easier and cheaper run-blockers, and is not going to pay to keep the pass-blockers because they have Wilson back there. Same goes for the WR’s, are no #1’s out there because they’re too expensive — have to pay that defense. And that’s only possible because they have Wilson back there.
I personally am scared to death about this strategy, but clearly Schneider and Carroll know what they’re doing, back-to-back SB’s and another strong team for 2015 suggest they’re making the right sacrifices.

caleb

Except when they won a superbowl they did have a #1 receiver.. Golden tate

Dale GoDawgs McLerran

Tate isn’t a #1 receiver. He is a #2 receiver. And if you think he exploded in Detroit last year, you are dead wrong. He had more passes thrown his way because Detroit is a pass-happy team whereas the Seahawks are a run centric team. But Tate’s yards/catch and yards/target with Detroit were both off of what he had with the Seahawks with Wilson at QB. In 2012 and 2013, Tate had 1586 yards on 167 targets (Y/T=9.50) and 109 receptions (Y/R=14.55). In 2014, Tate had 1331 yards on 144 targets (Y/T=9.24) and 99 receptions (Y/R=13.4).

caleb

Both max unger and russell okung had serious injuries last year. And jr sweezy is shit. You obviously dont watch very many of their games. His o line is one of the worst in the league even michael robinson, former seahawks fb and now nfl analyst said that tom cable is the only reason that o-line looks alright at all. And that hes just a great coach but there are a lot of times like that play in the super bowl where the o line falls apart immediately. There are also times when they hold up surprisingly well like the entire game in the divisional round against the panthers last year. Or week 16 against the cardinals. But in between those games they played the rams and they looked horrible against the rams so, i suppose i should point oit the o line is inconsistent, most of the time they are terrible. By the way at one point last year when okung got injured last year, alvin bailey who was a rookie who hadnt started before, filled in for him and actually played better.

eYeDEF

Okung hasn’t been a pro bowler since 2012 nor has he ever played as well as he did that year. Unger plays center and if you know anything about football, centers are the least consequential in pass protection while their bread and butter is run blocking. Wilson had a rookie right tackle last year who was one of the worst starting tackles in pass protection. Look it up in PFF signature stats. His 51 QB pressures given up rank among the highest. Sweezy is a solid run blocker but a terrible pass blocker. You don’t seem to recognize that run and pass blocking are two entirely different skills. The Seattle OL in pass protection truly was terrible.

eYeDEF

Actually, Wilson has led all QBs in Time To Throw all 3 seasons he’s played in the league according to PFF sig stats. This was not just a one season anomaly. He does hold the ball too long.

caleb

He’s been extending plays all three seasons, and only year his o line graded well for the pass, he was a rookie.

eYeDEF

I know he extends plays sometimes, but last season he was horrible when trying to extend plays. PFF sig stats, his QB rating when throwing the ball under 2.5 seconds was 113.2 and plummets to 73.8 when holding the ball longer than 2.5 seconds. A 40 point drop in QB rating is no joke. It also means he was holding onto the ball too long.

fidel305

tru dat. luck too

James Pierce

thats a lie if not link please

James Pierce

tannehill was pressured 210 times last year most in the league

Sophie Palf

GameRush01: Here are the Colts OL rankings for run-blocking and pass-blocking from Football Outsiders:

Run-blocking: #16 (Miami was #9)
Pass-blocking: #7 (Miami was #19)

So you’re both right, depending on what you’re arguing, but would seem Tannehill had a worse time of it than Luck in passing.

And overall, Indy’s OL would have to be ranked in the top half of the league if its worst measurement is #16.

Finally, of the 10 QB’s listed here, only Manning (#1) and Brady (#2) had better pass-protection than Luck’s #7 OL in pass-protection. Here are the rest:

The QB has a big role in how the OL grades in pass pro. Manning’s line actually suck, but Manning is so good at getting rid of the ball before pressure can occur.

James Pierce

i dont know where you got your numbers but i seen miami was #32 in pass blocking and #31 run blocking. wilson had the #18 pass blocking, and luck had the #21 pass blocking

Dale GoDawgs McLerran

James Pierce You are referencing PFF line rankings. Football Outsiders also has line rankings. There can be substantial discrepancies between the two. I’m sure PFF would like people to reference just their numbers, especially when commenting on this site. But there is not just one way to look at line play. Gotta allow for other methods which primarily means you have to also allow for the FO line rankings.

James Pierce

and football outsider dont even use pressures, hurries, qb hits, or avg time to throw before sacked. just how many time a qb throw the ball and how manytime their sacked i could of done that.

weq465tg

I would’t worry about it.

Some of us understand football.
Others only understand numbers on a sheet devoid of context.

Moneyball has really done a great disservice to analytics, sports analysis in general. It’s amateur hour everywhere – including here.

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You’re*

You troglodyte.

Will

The AFC South will be a lot better this year. Bortles is improving, Texans defense is ferocious and Mariota has looked promising. As a long time Colts fan, I can say that without Peyton Manning, Colts would have never had all the wins they did in his years. Same goes for Luck. Tannehill is a great QB, but no way you can put him ahead of Luck. Andrew Luck is the type of QB that makes all the players around him shine. Colts lost many offensive lineman last year as well. Donald Thomas got hurt in the game against Miami in 2013 and that was the turning point in the game. They were winning until that weak spot appeared in the O line. I drove from NJ to Indy for that game lol I would know. I puked the whole way home was so upset. But overall, Colts are a weak team with an amazing leader and QB Andrew Luck. Regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Will

Oh and one more thing, Colts used to be in the AFC East when I was a kid. They should have moved Miami to the South, no way is Indianapolis South. All cuz NFL doesn’t want Jags and Phins in same division.

Dale GoDawgs McLerran

What, you wish the Colts didn’t get to play in the softest division in the NFL which has allowed them one division title after another? The Colts would have played second fiddle to the Pats if the had been in the AFC East. Sure, they might have beat the Pats a few times. But the Pats generally had their number in matchups between Peyton and Brady.

However, the logic of geographic assignment is generally lost on the NFL. I do agree with you on that score.

fidel305

I like him, but he’s being over rated. He makes too many bad plays. It’s fixable. But, theres alot of confirmation bias in his current rankings by talking heads.

Watching how Brady torched Seattle and then watching how bad Ben and Rodgers were in the playoffs not to mention Peyton this list is awful. Is this like fantasy or something

fidel305

Brady didnt “torch” Seattle in that first half even with their banged up secondary. In fact, he sucked.

Seattle had two guys go out with injuries in the second half and the Pats picked on one of the replacements in particular who looked like a deer in the headlights. That’s where bradys yards came from in the second half.

J_May

Sherman, Chancellor and Thomas were hurt and Thomas wore the harness. But still, they wouldn’t have even played if it was the regular season. They were seriously banged up.

And ya, Brady’s QB rating was horrible until almost the 4th quarter when Avril got pulled for concussion concerns.

Patsfan85

Everyone get’s hurt in football stop making excuses. Seattle had a chance to win and they failed to do so.

Jack Mandin

Seattle’s entire secondary was injured. And, torching a defense is likely to end in more than 22 points. This is dumb.

Fyre Daproducer

As a die hard Dolphins fan, I think with no question about it that Andrew luck deserves the to be on the top ten list. Romo ranked too high, Philip rivers is a joke. Please remove one of those two players and put luck on top 5. I would’ve said Wilson too but Seahawks bailed him out by going to the SB back to back.

Jack Mandin

Philip Rivers is no joke. That is dumb.

Bob Neill

if you’re saying Tannehill > Luck you’re either a troll or you’re just stupid

jjknyc

While one can’t reasonably argue with a methodology that would put Aaron Rodgers at the top (my 12 year old Packers Fan son could, however, do that as well), the methodology behind any list of this nature for 2014-15 that includes Ryan Tannehill in the top 10 to the exclusion of Andrew Luck and that puts Tom Brady, after his performance in the last quarter of SB XLIX, behind Big Ben and Philip Rivers…such a methodology has to be viewed as extremely suspect at best.

Epic comment thread. I like that you have the balls to put out some rankings completely different then what every other site has although I’m not sure they’ll pan out.

Gregg

Wow…intense debate, from a fan of an nfc team outside point of view who’s had a F.o. and pff account for a good minute, I would take luck. And that’s not BASHING on Tannenhill, he’s a great young qb who’s improved his game in at least a couple areas every year, and I’m not bringing the playoffs wins into it becuase the I’ve seen some bonehead comments on here acting like the colts were the 2008 lions. Lol. U had Mathis, and a decent defense, t.y. ,Wayne, luck walked into a pretty fortunate situation. But when the colts were down, Luck has stepped up, the kc comeback playoffs before last was unfrigginreal. Tannenhill, by no fault of just his own, has taken over the reigns of a team who’s last real memorable star aside from Marino was zach Thomas. While I give him credit for taking ownership of a team this millennium who hasn’t played much better than the bills, I still want to see him take the east and dethrone the cheatriots. They haven’t even come close. I know its a team sport, but when it comes down to it, I look at it like this:
ELITE QB’s: Rodgers, P. Manning(maybe last year), Brees(same as Manning), Rothlisberger
Almost elite: R. Wilson, Romo, Luck, Rivers
Great qb’s(with elite potential):
Matty Ice, Staff, Dalton, Tannenhill,
These great qb’s have all had limited to no success in the playoffs. All have the potential, yet aside from Matty ice who’s offensive cast was a qb’s dream, these qb’s have yet something to prove. Just my two cents.